Baby Blessings and Bonds

First, it's been far too long since writing, but we've been busy. Much needed vacation, end of the semester at RC, the regular business and demands of life and work at LO.... I'm glad to be typing again, but still feel like I have little to offer to the blogging world right now. But that's a longer story for another time.

It's difficult to know where to start this post, so I'll start back in Abilene. In the January short term of my first year in the MDiv program in ACU's GST, I had my first real interaction with Randy Harris. Jack Reese had connected us at the end of the previous semester and I was going to be Randy's GA (a position I would have for the next year and a half), but we didn't really know one another. So, I signed up for the Philosophy of Religion course he was teaching that January. It was a quick introduction to the boss, professor, mentor, and friend who would play a far more important role in my development and spiritual journey than he probably knows.

Just under three years ago N and I were in the throes of hunting for ministry positions. It had been a long, unsuccessful process of applying to churches who would give us little time because I was in my late 20s and didn't have both extensive educational training and 20 years of ministry experience. One day, Randy stepped into my office and asked me to come to down to chat with him in his office. He told me about a little church in Michigan that was in the process of looking for their first full time minister. He had given them my name and wanted me to be expecting a call. In a whirlwind of events over the next several weeks, we interviewed and invited to join in the ministry of the Lake Orion Church of Christ.

One of the things we have started since moving up here is integrating more intentional baby blessings for the children born into our church family. I have been the one to catalyze the change. I write the blessings, make arrangements with the families, get pictures of their precious kids, and actually "preside" over the blessings during our worship services. I think that families really appreciate them, at least that's the impression they give me. At least no one has complained!

Now, since MJ was born, we have really wanted her to have a baby blessing, but it was a little awkward to bless my own daughter, to arrange the blessing myself, or to be overly pushy in asking someone else to plan it. We just wanted someone to notice that it hadn't been done and offer to make it happen. Yesterday it finally did. So, just after the pastoral prayer, Garth called N, MJ, and I up front to bless our little girl.


Here's where the story comes together. As the three of us stood up front, Garth begins to retell the story of our coming to LO from the church's perspective. He talked about Randy calling the church to see if they had hired anyone yet, and then suggesting that they contact us....

Then, Garth said that, knowing how important Randy was to us, that he wanted him to be a part of MJ's blessing. Garth had contacted Randy and asked him to write her blessing. Natalie and I were struck with myriad emotions and struggled to fight back the tears that we both felt as Garth read Randy's prayer for MJ. It was a wonderful gift, a true blessing to us yesterday. Thanks Garth and Randy for making what you gave the three of us yesterday.

Here's the blessing...

O God,

All of our instincts tell us to pray for nothing but good things for this child,

But we know that this is self serving and short sighted.

So, we pray that you will give her whatever she needs to be your person.

We pray

You will give her enough joy to make her cheerful and serene

and enough sorrow to make her big hearted and compassionate;

You will give her enough success to make her confident and hopeful

and enough failure to keep her humble and dependent on you;

You will give her enough of the cross to make her life Jesus

and that resurrection power will always be present in her life.

We pray, O God, that you will hold her so close to you side

that the Evil one cannot touch her.

That Eric and Natalie and this church will be your hands of blessing in her life.

In the Name of Jesus

Amen